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There are a gazillion people out there with history degrees (and English... and psych...).
Don't see why you think urban planner requires so much math. The guy I know who got an MA in Community Development and works as a conservation planner for a historic city didn't mention much about math or anything.
Now, planning jobs are hard to find, true. My friend looked for 1 1/2 years after graduation and two unpaid internships (and one paid) and networked like crazy, ended up in his own beloved city with his office 2 miles away. He also got a higher-paid offer from a fancy town (longer commute, more about affordable housing) and had both offers the same week.
I think planning to become a history teacher is a very losing idea. Best wishes.
There aren't jobs in urban planning and I don't see that changing anytime soon.
There are jobs for secondary teachers. There are areas of the country that are desperate for teachers. The pay isn't good in those areas (that's why they are desperate for teachers), but the cost of living is usually low and you can't beat having summers off.
History at the university level is virtually non-existant. Thousands more have history degrees than there are jobs available. If you want to teach history at high school or junior high level, pair your history degree with a degree in education. Talk to advisors about which should be a major or minor or undergrad and graduate level degree, to best achieve your goals.
Urban planning isn't a profession that will ever die completely, I think, but it is a field that is heavily dependent on discretionary spending. When cities don't have money to build new projects, they really have no need for urban planners. Urban planning is typically a graduate program. You get your undergrad in something else suych as geology or public administration or sociology. An admissions advisor could help you determine which undergrad program best sets you on the path you are interested in. However most urban planning degrees require that you complete statistics courses at the undergrad level, for admissions to the graduate program. That's because urban planners use statistics in their job every day. So while you may be able to minimize math work in school, you won't really be able to avoid it for the rest of your life.
There are a lot of teachers out there with certifications in History. Be prepared to wait a long time before you get a permanent full time teaching job.
I was actually thinking of a degree in English. So would a career as an english teacher offer more job opportunities than being a career in urban planning?
I was actually thinking of a degree in English. So would a career as an english teacher offer more job opportunities than being a career in urban planning?
I don't know if this helps your decision, but I have not heard a single person say that he/she is jubilant to be in the teaching profession. Low starting pay, long hours (particularly after school), deal with union tenure BS. One perk I've heard a lot about though is decent schedule (holidays, govt. holidays, snow days, a couple months off in the summer).
Last edited by Z3N1TH 0N3; 04-20-2011 at 01:22 PM..
Yeah and I would be looking into teaching at a private school first. I might have to have two jobs or work my way up or eventually try to get a master's degree too.
Most urban/city planners work for the government, although it's a growing field in the private sector. Private field isn't great right now as construction is still slow, but infill development is only going to continue to increase. About half of the city planners in California work for redevelopment zones which are on Brown's cutting block. So in the five to ten years you're looking at potentially 30% of urban planners being laid off.
Urban planning is going to use a fair amount of math. It's basically an applied analyst/economics/finance type degree. You couldn't pick a liberal arts degree which requires more math if you tried.
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